Tuesday, September 11, 2007
Camp Pendleton Marines learning Arabic
Iraqi instructors are at Camp Pendleton this week for pre-deployment training of headquarters command of the 5th Marine Regiment.
By VIK JOLLY
The Orange County Register

CAMP PENDLETON – Ali Mehsen's voice boomed across a large training room.

The Iraqi language instructor told a story of how after seeing a military convoy stopped near his home, an Iraqi man ran toward the house to check on his two young daughters and his wife.

American troops yelled, "Stop!" But the man kept running. Then, one yelled, "Owe-giff!" – Arabic for "stop." The man froze.

"This guy almost got killed," Mehsen said. "Look at this simple word. It saved a life."

Some two dozen U.S. Marines seated in the room with laptops in front of them at Camp Pendleton on Tuesday listened intently.

Marine officials say the instruction program helps bridge cultural gaps, facilitates communication and, indeed, saves lives.

"This allows the Marines to translate the regiment's plan into action because our primary mission as a regiment is to coach and train the Iraqi security forces," said 1st Lt. Lawton King, a spokesman for the 5th Marine Regiment, which is expected to redeploy to Iraq later this year or early next year. "And to do that, you have to be able to connect with Iraqis, you have to be able to cross those cultural barriers and communicate. It has to be two-way."

Iraqi instructors are training the 5th Marines headquarters command personnel this week at Camp Pendleton as part of a program conducted by the Marine Corps' Center for Advanced Operational Cultural Learning.

Established in May 2005 at Training and Education Command in Quantico, Va., the program has trained more than 40,000 Marines for deployment, said Maj. Tim Keefe, a spokesman in Quantico, in an e-mail.

"I'm sure the program has saved lives, both American and local civilians in the areas in which our Marines are deployed," Keefe said. "… Marines better understand local customs, beliefs, relevant language, social networks and other nuances of the operational environment. This knowledge lessens misunderstandings between our forces and local civilians and allows our Marines to have a greater awareness on the battlefield."

Mehsen, 42, a former Iraqi air force pilot and interpreter, rapidly fired off instructions Tuesday.

You win points with Iraqis just for trying to speak their language, he said. Try to convert only about three English words into Arabic at a time. The Arabic numbers are read from left to right.

"This is what you need to learn how to ask questions," he said, standing in front of a PowerPoint slide outlining words matched with their Arabic sounds.

The midmorning sun sent light beams through the back windows, warming the room quickly, forcing Mehsen to wipe sweat off his forehead using his hands. Even imperfect attempts at Arabic will help, he said.

"You will make them happy," he told his audience. "If you ask (them) what tribe they are from, they'd be shocked. 'Wow, Americans, they even know my tribe.' "

Then, Mehsen added: "Those (Arabic) words will enable you to guarantee the Iraqi people fall in love" (with you).

Whether that was hyperbole is hard to say, but Mehsen hammered away at his key point: A little bit of Arabic and sensitivity to basic norms can go a long way in bridging the cultural divide between American troops and Iraqis.

Cpl. Filadelfo Rodriguez, 21, repeated the Arabic words after Mehsen along with other Marines. The central California man will be returning to Iraq for his second tour with the 5th Marines.

Rodriguez, a field artillery scout observer, says he hopes he will get to interact more with Iraqis this time around.

"A lot of Marines never understood the (Iraqi) culture all that much," he said. "It'll be easier for me to understand what's going on over there."

Contact the writer: 949-465-5424 or vjolly@ocregister.com

Ellie